INTRODUCTION

The Internet and proliferation of the personal computer allowed information to be shared among scientists, clinicians, and patients at a speed and to an extent not easily imagined even 20 years ago. Together, the Internet and the World Wide Web have now become invaluable and ubiquitous tools for clinicians, scientists, and patients to communicate about research questions, patient care issues, and problems they may be facing with their disease or current therapies.

In this appendix, a framework is developed as a guide to AIDS-related resources on the Internet. Due to the difficulty in categorizing so many of the important web sites, anyone interested in AIDS will likely find interesting information in all of the categories listed below. The corollary to this is that the best way to get a sense of the resources available on the World Wide Web is to spend time on a computer looking at the various web pages then linking to other sites, many of which are not listed here. General searches are most easily performed using Google (http://www.google.com) or Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com). All of the sites listed in this chapter have been found to be useful and with up to date and accurate information. The websites listed are predominantly sites based in the United States; however, there are a number of European and African websites listed as well. As of March 2006 the links, as listed, are functional.

INDEX AND COMPREHENSIVE SITES

Table 82-1 lists sites that are either HIV and AIDS specific, or general medical sites that give HIV and AIDS significant attention. The sites listed in Table 82-1 are good initial launching points for recent information about HIV and AIDS and frequently have links to more specific topics about HIV and AIDS.

Table 82-1 Index and Comprehensive Sites

PATIENT EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY SITES

Perhaps the most interesting change the Internet has brought to the world of medicine is the change that has occurred in the patient–doctor relationship due to the plethora of clinical information available to patients on the World Wide Web. Now patients have easy access to the primary literature as well as reviews and anecdotes from others living with the same condition. Table 82-2 lists websites with accurate and reliable information that may be useful for persons living with HIV, as well as clinicians treating HIV-infected patients. Several of the websites also specialize in patient advocacy.

Table 82-2 Patient Education and Advocacy Sites

WOMEN AND AIDS

It has now become clear that the global HIV pandemic significantly affects women in unequal ways. Many websites dedicated to the unique situation of HIV-infected women have been developed over the past several years. These websites provide general information about HIV and AIDS in women as well as topics such as child bearing and HIV, raising HIV-infected children, and the effects of medications on women (Table 82-3).

Table 82-3 Women and AIDS

CLINICIAN AND PATIENT CARE SITES

As exists for HIV-infected persons, there is a plethora of information on the web devoted to the clinical practice of HIV and AIDS care. The websites in Table 82-4 provide general information about HIV-infected patient management. These sites also provide information or links to information on HIV/AIDS-related medications, side effects, and drug interactions.

Table 82-4 Clinician Sites/Patient Care Information

Websites that specifically provide HIV-related treatment guidelines are listed in Table 82-5. These sites are updated regularly. Recently, a free web-based encyclopedia, the Wikipedia, has been developed. This website is updated as soon as information becomes available. The Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) is particularly interesting because it is collaboratively written by anyone and is also constantly updated and corrected. The Wikipedia has very useful information on HIV and AIDS as well as HIV treatment guidelines.

Table 82-5 Treatment Guidelines

HIV drug therapy is often complicated by drug–drug interactions. Many websites have user-friendly tables or search functions that list important drug–drug interactions (Table 82-6).

Table 82-6 Drug Interactions

CLINICAL TRIALS AND VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

The Internet has been used as an effective communication device to keep investigators informed of trial progress, for reporting trial results to the public, and for recruiting patients to participate in trials. Table 82-7 lists websites that perform these functions for HIV therapies and for HIV vaccine-related trials.

Table 82-7 Clinical Trials and Vaccine Development